Forbes Coal, also known as Forbes & Manhattan Coal, is headquartered in Toronto, ON, Canada, and has bituminous coal and anthracite mines in the Klipriver coalfield, near Dundee, in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa.[1] Forbes holds the majority share in two operating mines in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province and expects to unearth about one-million tons of coal in the 2011 financial year. In July 2011, Forbes Coal said it plans to triple production from its two mines within the next three to four years, and is considering coal acquisition opportunities in South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, as well as areas in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, as part of a longer-term plan to increase coal output to ten-million tons a year.[2]

Corporate overview

Forbes and Manhattan Coal acquired a 53.5% interest in Slater Coal (Pty) Ltd., a South African company, which has a 70% interest in Zinoju Coal (Pty) Ltd. Zinoju holds a 100% interest in the Magdalena bituminous mine and the Aviemore anthracite mine.[3]

Mining projects

The operating Magdalena bituminous and the Aviemore anthracite mines have a measured and indicated resource base of 54.2M t bituminous coal.[4]

Magdalena coal project

The Magdalena property is located near the town of Dundee in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, and encompasses approximately 1,844 hectares. It consists of the Magdalena underground mine and the Magdalena open cast pit mine, and has an 43-101 measured and indicated mineral resource of 54.2 million tonnes of in situ coal with an estimated volume of 36.1 million cubic metres. The Magdalena opencast pit and underground mine has an estimated coal output of 100,000 tonnes of bituminous coal per month.[5]

Aviemore coal project

The Aviemore property is located four kilometres from the town of Dundee in KwaZulu Natal. The Aviemore underground mine has an estimated coal output of 25,000 tonnes of anthracite coal per month.[6]

Expansion of mines

In November 2011 Forbes subsidiary Slater Coal secured a R230-million loan facility from investment and private banking group Investec to expand the Magdalena mine to one-million tons in the next year, while production of anthracite at its Aviemore mine would be increased from 100,000 to 400,000 tons.[7]